Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer

K2 Space

15h • $190,000 - $285,000

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer to lead the architecture and development of low-level embedded firmware for high-performance mixed-signal and digital SoCs. This role is central to enabling first-silicon success, bridging hardware design and system software across pre-silicon, bring-up, and production phases. You will work closely with digital ASIC, mixed-signal, RF, verification, and system teams to define firmware architecture, validate hardware functionality, and build robust, scalable firmware foundations that power future products.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in embedded firmware development, with significant ownership of SoC-level firmware.
• Deep expertise in C/C++ for embedded systems; strong understanding of low-level hardware interactions.
• Hands-on experience with SoC bring-up from first silicon.
• Strong understanding of CPU architectures (ARM, RISC-V, or similar), memory systems (SRAM, DRAM, DDR, caches), interrupts, DMA, interconnects, and low-power states.
• Experience working closely with ASIC/SoC design teams.
• Proven ability to debug complex hardware/firmware issues.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with secure boot, hardware security modules, or cryptographic accelerators.
• Familiarity with pre-silicon environments (RTL simulation, emulation, FPGA prototyping).
• Experience with high-speed interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, JESD, SerDes).
• Background in satellite communication, networking, compute, automotive, or high-reliability systems.
• Experience defining firmware for radiation-tolerant or safety-critical systems.

Responsibilities

• Define the overall embedded firmware architecture for custom SoCs, including boot flows, hardware abstraction layers (HALs), drivers, and system services.
• Develop low-level firmware in C/C++ (and assembly where needed) for CPUs, DSPs, and microcontrollers embedded within SoCs.
• Own boot ROM, first-stage bootloader, secure boot, and early initialization sequences.
• Design and implement device drivers for on-chip peripherals (DMA, memory controllers, interconnects, SerDes, ADC/DAC interfaces, timers, GPIO, etc.).
• Lead pre-silicon firmware development.
• Drive post-silicon bring-up, including power-on sequencing, clocking, reset, memory bring-up, and peripheral validation.
• Debug complex HW/FW issues using JTAG, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, trace tools, and custom debug hooks.
• Collaborate with SoC architects to define register maps, memory maps, interrupts, DMA flows, and debug infrastructure.
• Provide firmware input during architecture, PDR/CDR, and silicon reviews.
• Bring up and integrate RTOS or bare-metal.
• Support integration with higher-level system software or application processors as needed.
• Implement robust error handling, logging, and recovery mechanisms.
• Support manufacturing test, production firmware, and field diagnostics.
• Contribute to long-term firmware maintainability and scalability across multiple SoC generations.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including unlimited paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed